The Land of Song and Dance

by Aestroch

Chapter 4: Sappy Reunion

I almost laughed.

Almost.

I would have thought that Fluttershy was joking, but the dead-set scowl and intense gaze told me that she was completely serious.

I had to wonder if she knew what she was asking me. I had figured out why Twilight had reacted so aversely to the thought of starting a herd: It was an archaic mating practice to bolster population levels.

I swallowed the chuckle in my throat. “Um, Fluttershy, just so that we’re on the same level, here, I have to ask. You do know what you’re asking for, right?”

Fluttershy blushed and looked to the ground, hiding behind her mane. “Um, well, I heard you talking with Twilight about it, and, um, it sounded… nice.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Um, I… I’m asking you to start a herd with me?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Fluttershy, you’ve known me for less than a day, and in that time, I’ve caused you to faint twice, beat up your friends, got beaten up by those same friends, and got blood-sap stuff on your sheets. If you’re asking what I think you’re asking, that seems like a bit of a jump in logic.”

“But I know you’re a good person! You’re strong and brave and kind and smart and- and- If you were to start a herd with me, then everypony else will see it too.”

“I still think that this is rather sudden. Besides, I’m not interested.”

Fluttershy whimpered and her legs started quivering. “W-Why? Why would you want to start a herd with deer and not Ponies? I mean, um, no offense to the deer, but, um, they aren’t nice like Ponies are. I mean not to say they aren’t nice, but they don’t like, um, strangers.”

I shrugged. “I just know deer, I guess. Besides, give me a few days, maybe a week, and they won’t mind me hanging around.”

“But, I don’t mind you already! I mean, um, I would like it if you were protecting me.”

“Alright, I’m going to put this in blunt terms, because beating around the bush isn’t helping.” I crouched down to look her in the eye. “It sounds a lot like you’re asking me to mate with you and a group of other ponies.”

Fluttershy’s eyes slowly expanded as she processed my words, and then shrunk to pinpricks as she grasped the direction the conversation had taken. It was a rather fascinating process to watch. I’d have to ask the druid about the-

Oh, right, there is no druid.

Fluttershy’s face flushed as red as my armour, and she started hyperventilating and stuttering broken words. After a few seconds, she grabbed ahold of herself enough to speak in a semi coherent manner.

“I, um, no, that, um, that is to say, um, w-well when you, um, put it like, um, I-I mean, um, you told Twilight, um, overseeing growth-“

I held up a hand to stop the doe from continuing her rant of embarrassment.

“That’s what I thought, but I had to make sure. I don’t think your friends would take kindly to a misunderstanding of that magnitude.” I stood back up. “I believe the question you want to ask is: would I be willing to become a Warden for you?”

“Um, y-yes, I suppose, um, that is, if you don’t mind.”

“The answer is still no.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, you Ponies live in towns and cities and are ruled by your God-Princess. You don’t need Wardens. The deer, on the other hand, are few and defenseless in a forest full of predators. I can help them to grow and live. If I were to become a Warden for you Ponies, I would probably just sit around doing nothing.”

“Um, well, I do go into the Everfree sometimes. I need to gather herbs and ingredients for my first aid kit so that I can help my animal friends when they get hurt. Some of those plants are, um, very deep in the forest and I don’t dare go that far from the entrance.”

“You have friends, a police force, and probably some mercenaries who can help you.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask them to go out of their way just to help me…”

“But you can ask me?”

“Well, um, I mean, if you were my Warden, it wouldn’t be out of your way, I think, because you’d have to keep an eye on me anyway?”

I paused at that. She had a point. Still, I had a better argument.

“Even if I were to become a Warden for Ponies, I wouldn’t have a clue about your society. I know how deer herds work, and I know how deer think. I don’t know a thing about you Ponies.”

“Oh, well, I could teach you some things, if you don’t mind, and Twilight can-“

“Gods no, Twilight can’t teach me anything.”

“Um, what do you mean?”

“She just goes on and on and on, and I lose track of the lecture.”

“She knows a lot of things though…”

“She’s not a good teacher.”

“I suppose, um, if you think so…”

“Besides, I’m not on very good terms with your friends. They did summon Somae to smite me, after all.”

“Um, who?”

“Giant horse, Keeper of the Sun, burnt me to a crisp yesterday. Without leaving a sunburn, I might add.”

“Oh, um, that was Princess Celestia. She, um, didn’t like it when you hit Twilight.”

“Your Princess is a deity of the Sun? Oh, this I’ve got to see.”

“And, um, my friends were just trying to protect me. I’m sure if we explain the situation, they’ll accept you just fine.”

I rubbed my face and sighed. “Why are you pushing this so hard? I can just disappear into the forest and be out of your life forever, and here you are asking me to stick around in a place that is at least partially hostile towards me.”

Fluttershy scuffed the ground with her hoof and looked to the side. “Um, well, I admit that, um, you’re very interesting, and I’ve never seen anything like you before and, um, I could learn a lot from-“

“So you want to add me to your collection of animal friends.”

“No! Well, um, kind of. I mean, they’re not a collection, but, um, they do come around a lot and I know a lot about them, but they’re still free animals.”

“Okay then. I might pop by every now and again for supplies. Maybe you’ll find the deer and I on one of your forays into the forest one day.”

“But- But…” Fluttershy looked stricken, and resorted to the dirtiest trick in her book. Her incredibly expressive eyes swelled to fill their sockets and began glistening with tears.

I sighed and reached out to ruffle Fluttershy’s mane. “Good bye, Fluttershy. It’s been a pleasure.”

I didn’t look back as I walked into the shadows of the Everfree Forest.

That didn’t stop me from hearing her first teary sniffle.

ΨΨΨ

True to Fluttershy’s directions, I found a small glade in the forest with clear signs of deer bedding during the night for quite some time. The deer themselves were not there at the time, so I elected to wait in in the shadows nearby until nightfall.

In the meantime, I played a little game that I liked to call ‘The Man Test.’ It involved poking a bruise or scratching a scab until you reach and surpass your pain threshold. Supposedly, it raised the threshold, but I’ve never really noticed a difference.

In summary, I spent the day with my finger digging into my side. I looked just about as ridiculous as I felt.

Just as the sky began to turn pink and orange, there came a rustling from the bushes at the edge of the glade. I hurriedly slipped my curiass into its position and strapped my shields to my arms and stood in wait.

To my surprise, instead of a deer or two trotting gracefully into the clearing, Fluttershy came barreling through the forest and was scanning the trees intently. I stepped from the shadows, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Fluttershy, what-?”

“Alan, we need your help!” Fluttershy launched herself at me and latched onto my left leg.

“Help? Help with what?”

“Timberwolves! A pack of them just began ransacking the town!”

“What?! Why?”

“I don’t know, it’s so unlike them! They just charged from the Everfree!”

I pulled Fluttershy off of my leg and tucked her under my arm before jogging off towards the town, navigating the underbrush of the forest easily. “What about the town’s guard?”

“They’re, um, mostly for show. Not very many people know that.”

I swore quietly under my breath. “Well then why don’t you have walls around everything?”

“We’re at peace! Nothing’s laid siege to Equestria in over a thousand years! Well, except for the Changelings. Most of the predators stay in the Everfree.”

“What was that about Changelings?”

“Um, the Changelings tried to take over Equestria a while back. Um, they didn’t win.”

“I got that part, but what’s a Changeling?”

“Oh, um, they’re a race of bug-pony… things that feed off of emotion.”

“Changeling Ponies… Why is everything in this land a Pony? How many gods are jealous of Pegacorn’s creation?”

“Um… I don’t know. I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be.”

I thought to myself as I darted over a fallen log. Feeds off of emotions…

“Hey Fluttershy, when you say ‘feeds on emotions,’ how exactly do you mean?”

“Um, I’m not sure on the details, but it has something to do with scents and jelly. I think. Twilight said something about her book… I think they absorb emotion based on where they’re from? I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

“Okay then, but… Alright, I asked the wrong question. How do they feed on the emotions?”

“Um, they absorb it from proximity and exude it into a jelly. A lot of the time, they have to be in disguise to get that close and trigger those feelings.”

“Okay, so they absorb from their nose or something… Wait, they disguise themselves?”

“As normal ponies, yes. They have this magic field thing that they… Um… Do things to. You can ask Twilight about how they do it, I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

I almost slapped myself in the face, but my free hand was currently keeping vines and branches out of my face. “So Changelings are the Pony form of a combination of Guliem and Succubus.”

“Um I guess? I don’t know what either of those are.”

“Never mind. And you’re saying that they attacked Equestria?”

“Oh, um, only one hive that was extremely desperate. Twilight’s been talking about how the other hives were appalled and, um, are working on a truce with Equestria.”

“I- Well, I suppose that’s alright. As long as it was a, um, rogue hive, I guess.”

I abruptly exited the Everfree Forest. I hadn’t even been paying attention to what little horizon there was in the forest, I was just focusing on not tripping and on Fluttershy.

I get sidetracked a lot. I need to stop doing that.

I ran to the town, past Fluttershy’s cottage, and came across carnage that can only be achieved by very determined searching. Fruits, wood, and cloth littered the cobblestone streets, carts and stands knocked about and torn apart, and dirt absolutely everywhere, but there was no blood.

Odd.

All of the buildings, I noticed, were wood and straw houses, garishly coloured and just begging to be lit on fire. All of the doors were shut and the windows covered. I heard growls and barks from deeper in the town.

“Fluttershy?”

“Um, yes?”

“Go back to your house. Take care of your animals. I’ll deal with the Timberwolves.”

“Um, okay, just be careful. I, um, I wouldn’t wa-“ Fluttershy’s sentence was cut off with a long squeak as I dropped her to her hooves. She looked like she wanted to finish her sentence, but chose to run back to her cottage.

I walked towards the sounds of canine savagery emanating from up the street and around the corner. I checked the straps on my armour and made sure that I wasn’t being ambushed from every alley. As I got closer, I could hear that the wolves were snuffling and snorting.

So they weren’t just there to hunt. They were looking for something.

As I approached the final corner, the wind started blowing softly and the wolves all halted where they stood.

I was upwind of them.

One howled.

They had been looking for me.

I rounded to final corner in a crouch, shields held in a defensive position. I saw five Timberwolves fanned in front of me. The middle one was glaring directly at me, as thought it had a personal grudge.

Wait; is this the wolf that had fled in the forest? Man, these things are smart, holding a grudge like that. I must make sure that none escape.

Inhale. Heartbeat.

Fortify stance.

Five growls in harmony. Talented wolves.

Pat pat pat. Five circling wolves. Three clockwise, two counter.

Better even the numbers.

Closest wolf three paces away.

Charge.

Wide eyes. Surprised.

Exhale. Heartbeat.

Chop right, swing left.

Crack. Swump. Thud. Broken neck.

Four wolves left. Two clockwise, two counter.

Inhale. Heartbeat.

Four growls.

Scuff. Leap from behind.

Spin swing.

Thwok. Deflected.

Growl. Leap from left.

Exhale. Heartbeat.

Uppercut.

Thwuck. Tip pierced belly.

Heartbeat.

Thwak. Snap. Broken neck.

Clack. Leap from behind.

Thud. Discard body.

Inhale. Heartbeat.

Fwumph. Collision with back.

Scrabbling. Claws can’t get through armour.

Reach and grab. Hunch and fling.

Exhale. Heartbeat.

Thud. Wolf on back between legs.

Heartbeat.

Stomp on neck.

Snap. Gurgle.

Heartbeat.

No mercy.

Defend.

Hesitant growl. Two wolves left.

Inhale. Heartbeat.

Grab corpse.

Toss.

Heartbeat.

Sprint.

Thud. Thump. Impact and fall.

Last one’s watching. Make a last impression.

Exhale. Heartbeat.

Jump.

Spin.

Heartbeat.

Stab.

Through the neck, complete severance.

Inhale. Heartbeat.

One wolf left.

Hate filled glare. Turned tail.

Same one that got away last time.

Not this time.

Quick song. Only one I’ve every perfected.

Sling shield.

Exhale. Heartbeat.

Whoosh.

Pat pat pat.

Shpurk.

Thwunk.

Impaled on a wall.

Nice.

Inhale.

Heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Exhale.

My heart was racing.

Not out of fear or exhaustion.

Adrenaline.

I defended these Ponies. Killed their attackers.

By Siffin’s sensitive silk spool, that felt good.

I tried to calm my heart as I retrieved my shield from the wall. Defending the deer back home had never gotten me so riled up before. Perhaps there was merit to being Fluttershy’s Warden after all.

The wolf’s body had kept my shield from piercing through the wall, but there was a rather sizeable notch gouged in it. I’d fix it later.

I remembered something at that moment.

Horses are herbivores, but Fluttershy and Twilight had been extremely adverse to the sap-blood. Perhaps they preferred food that wouldn’t fight back. I decided that five corpses were not something that was polite to leave in the middle of town.

It took a little bit of figuring, and no small amount of manly grunting, but I managed to sling one corpse across each shoulder and one across those two, and carried the last two under my arms. The decapitated head found itself hanging by the throat from the prongs on my left pauldrons.

As I walked out of the town, heads with eyes that were much too large began peeking out of windows and doorways. All of them were wary and fearful.

Finally, as I reached the town’s limit, I heard hoofsteps behind me. I turned to see a small yellow Earth Pony with red hair and a giant ribbon standing a few paces behind me, eyes wide and mouth in a half-open frown. There was a panicked whispering coming from a nearby doorway.

I stared at the tiny thing with giant eyes. It stared back at me.

“Um, hi? Can I help you?”

My voice startled the small Pony, and it darted its eyes that were too big for its size from my face to the head impaled on my pauldron.

“You, uh, um-“

“Yes, I killed these wolves. And now I’m disposing of them so that your town doesn’t have to. You’re welcome.”

“Yer not-“

“No I am not going to hurt you.”

“How did-“

“I know what you’re asking because Fluttershy asked the same questions. It seems to be the standard greeting around these parts, if you’re not outright assaulting someone for no reason.”

“You were a-salted?”

I would have pinched my nose if I’d had a free hand. “That’s neither here nor there. Can I help you?”

The pony whispering past the door increased their urgency and volume, but not enough for me to make out.

“Um, A-Ah’m Applebloom, and because Ah figured that since you protected our town, you were friendly.” This pony’s accent was something just short of a drawl. I knew a lot of farmers in my youth who’d spoken similarly.

“Well, yes, I guess. I was really only here for the Timberwolves, though.”

“Oh, um, w-well…” Applebloom craned her head up and stammered a bit. “Yer tall!”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

The small Pony shook its head a bit. “Um, sorry, but, um, I didn’t get your name.

“Alan. Alan Dehis.”

“That’s a funny name. Ah mean, it fits you, Ah guess. Ah mean, not that yer funny lookin’
‘er nothin’ but, um, Ah’ve never heard o’ no one named like that.”

The whispering had turning into a hoarse, quiet shout.

“Applebloom, you get yer flank back here! That thing’s dangerous, ‘n yer insultin’ it!”

I chuckled a bit. “That’s quite alright, Applebloom. I’m not exactly from here, so I’m not surprised that it sounds funny to you.”

Applebloom cracked a giant nervous grin that was excessively wide. I’d have to ask the druid about their mouth and lip structures.

Oh. Right. No druid.

“Well, howdy, Mister Alan Dehis. I’m Applebloom.”

“Yes, we’ve been through this part.”

“We have? Ah, horseapples.”

“Applebloom!” The voice from the door was almost at a normal speaking volume now. From the scandalized tone, I guessed that Applebloom had just said something awfully inappropriate.

“Well, Applebloom, it was nice meeting you. I’ve got to go dump these corpses before they start stinking.”

“Alright, Alan Dehis. You, uh, thank you for saving town and, um welcome to Ponyville.” Applebloom held out one diminutive hoof.

I looked at the hoof for a moment, then to the wolves under my arms, then to my feet.

I balanced precariously on one foot and held the other one out for the traditional hoof-bump.

What I got instead was a vigorous hoofshake that nearly threw my balance. Hadn’t Twilight said that that was an Apple Family thing?

Wait, of course. Apple family. Applebloom. I get it. Theme naming.

I set my foot down and turned around. After a few seconds of walking, I heard the small Pony leap into the air and shout.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MONSTER GREETER YAY!”

That was definitely odd, but at least it wasn’t a war cry.

The voice that had been begging Applebloom to go back inside was now almost shouting at the tiny thing about danger and responsibility and listening to her big sister. I assumed that the one berating her was said big sister.

ΨΨΨ

I had found my way back to the Everfree Forest nearest to Fluttershy’s cottage and had gathered a bunch of fallen branches and leaves in order to give the Timberwolves a proper bonfire funeral. From what I could tell, they were at least marginally intelligent, and deserved an intelligent being’s rights to passage into the afterlife of their choosing.

Afterward, I’d washed myself and my armour again. It was much easier this time around as, though there was a lot more sap due to it leaking from the dead bodies, it was still wet, and so dissolved swiftly in the water.

By the time I’d finished with the necessary clean-up, the moon was well into the sky, a half-crescent of light. I wandered to Fluttershy’s door and knocked a few times. The lights were on in the windows so I had assumed that she was still awake.

I was proved right when she opened the door. She mumbled a tentative hello while looking at the ground, but gasped when all she saw was my feet. She looked up and her gaze met my knees. She proceeded to latch herself onto my leg and started babbling a stream of words that mostly added up to ‘I was worried about you.’

I ruffled Fluttershy’s mane and smiled. “Hey now, Fluttershy. I’m fine. And I’m not covered in blood-sap stuff this time! A definite improvement over the last time we met.”

Fluttershy looked up at me with glistening eyes. “Does that mean you didn’t kill them?” She almost sounded hopeful.

“No. I killed them.” Best to shoot down that expectation quickly. “I just washed the blood-sap and soot off when I was done.”

Fluttershy cocked her head at me. “Soot?”

“I gave the Timberwolves a proper funeral pyre. They were intelligent enough to hold a grudge, and that deserves recognition.”

“You burned them?”

“Yep. I freed their souls from the mortal realm so that they could ascend to the afterlife of their choosing.”

“Oh. Okay. But… you burned them?”

“I was very careful. Why, is there a different set of burial rights in this land?”

“Um, well, I suppose, um, but it depends so I guess it’s okay. So, um… Why are you here? I mean, not to sound rude, but… um…”

“Well, I had a thought after I’d finished with the Timberwolves. All the Ponies in town seemed to have a plan for whenever monsters attack. Namely, hide inside until they leave. Do they get attacked regularly?”

“Well, um, I suppose the last few years have been a little more hectic than usual.”

“And then I met this really tiny Earth Pony. Yellow fur, red mane, giant bow, name of Applebloom.”

“Oh, um, you didn’t scare her, did you?”

I chuckled a bit. “Well, I certainly intimidated her. Still, she had the common decency to thank me for taking care of the Timberwolves and welcomed me to Ponyville. Then she shouted something about crusading monster greeters.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “Oh, yes, that sounds like her. She’s such a sweet filly. I just know she’s going to be an ambassador one day.”

“Mm.”

“So, um, that’s nice, but then why are you here? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, since you’ve confirmed my theory that this town does in fact get attacked every now and again, I’ve decided to take you up on your proposal.”

Fluttershy’s face went blank, and then slowly broke into a hopeful smile. “You- You mean it?”

“Yes. Fluttershy, I would be honoured to be the first Warden for your herd.”

There was an odd noise, a bit like an eagle call combined with a mouse squeak. I realized that it was coming from Fluttershy. Her smile split into a full on grin as she began bouncing in a circle chanting “Yesyesyesyes!”

“I’ll just need recognition from your god.”

Fluttershy stopped in midair. I attributed it to her ability to fly. “Oh, um, well, you see…”

“I know that Pegasus has been a somewhat reclusive god, but from the various curses and exclamations I’ve heard, Somae, your ‘Princess Celestia,’ is as close as I can get. How quickly can we get her over here?”

“Um well, we could ask Twilight to ask her to come. It’s late though, she’s probably-“

“Hey, Fluttershy! I’m back with your sheets! You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find a clear enough spring with enough gravel at the bottom to clean the sheets. First I had to go get Spike, though, so that he could dry your sheets quickly. Trust me; nothing beats dragon fire when it comes to a soft dry. I know how much you like doing your laundry yourself, but you were, ah, passed out at the time. Oh, um. Hi Alan. Still around? What about your deer?”

I turned around and stepped aside, letting Twilight trot into the cottage with Fluttershy’s sheets folded into neat little squares. That little purple wyrm was curled up on her back, sound asleep. “Well, I’ve had a second thought about that line of work.”

“Really?” Twilight set the sheets down on Fluttershy’s couch. “Why?”

Fluttershy started making that odd “Squeee” noise again and burst out, “Alan agreed to start a herd with me!”

As Twilight gaped and Fluttershy blushed, I put a hand to my face. There had to have been better ways to put it.

“She means that I’ve agreed to be a Warden for her herd.”

“Ha- But- Fluttershy doesn’t have a herd!”

“Not yet.”

“That’s- I mean, there are no laws against herds, but really?”

“Oh, and another thing. I need you-“

“I am not joining your herd, you depraved, giant monkey-bear… thing!”

“Let me finish. I need you to summon your god Somae, your ‘Princess Celestia,’ so that I can receive her blessing.”

“Why should I ask Princess Celestia to give her your blessing?”

“Because otherwise Fluttershy’s herd will have to pay me weekly to retain my services. Wardens are not cheap bodyguards.”

“I… well… couldn’t you give her a discount?”

I gave Twilight a flat stare, but before I could retort, Fluttershy cut in. “Um would you please, Twilight? I, um, I’d appreciate it.”

“I… fine. Since you agree, Fluttershy. Spike?” Twilight jostled the wyrm on her back and it grumbled before sleepily sitting up and rubbing its eyes. The light green spines on its head were just as droopy as its eyelids. “Spike, take a letter.”

Spike reached down behind his leg on the side that I couldn’t see and pulled a quill, inkwell, and scroll of parchment from seemingly nowhere. Another question for the druid- who doesn’t exist.

Maybe I’ll ask Twilight. Hah. No.

Maybe I’ll ask Fluttershy later.

Twilight dictated a terse letter kindly requesting that Princess Celestia come swiftly to Fluttershy’s cottage. The wyrm, Spike, took a deep breath that was more of a yawn, and breathed a stream of light green flame that consumed the letter. Its ashes and the remnants of the liquid fire streamed out of the window and off into the night.

I scratched my head for a moment before asking the most prominent question in my mind.

“You use a wyrm as a communication device?”

Twilight looked indignant and drew herself up with self-righteousness. “Spike isn’t just a communication device; he’s my number one assistant! He helps me with everything, and he’s just like my little brother, I’ll have you know. And he is no mere wyrm; he’s just a baby dragon. He hasn’t hit his first growth spurt yet, so he’s still just a baby dragon, despite being over 15 years old.”

“Okay, okay, jeeze. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

There was a bright flash of light and a loud popping noise from outside. I strapped my shields to my pauldrons and held the door open for the two Ponies.

Somae met us just outside of Fluttershy’s cottage and down the road a ways. She seemed to be radiating light, but that wasn’t surprising, seeing as how she was the god of the Sun. She eyed me warily as I walked over.

“Greetings, Corukh. I hope that you are ready to talk peace.”

“I’ve never talked anything but.”

“Your actions speak to the contrary.”

“The blue Pegasus attacked me first, despite my plea for civility.”

“Even so, you could have stopped at any time.”

“Yeah, and let a herd of Ponies kill me on the premise of slander.”

“My little ponies are not a violent people.”

“Maybe not as a whole, but the blue one and orange one are.”

“I hate to interrupt your majesty,” Twilight butted in. “But he is right. Rainbow Dash had jumped to conclusions without asking questions first, and Applejack went right along with her. We had thought that Alan was hurting Fluttershy.”

Somae raised an eyebrow at Twilight. “Indeed? And you had not thought to make sure, first?”

“I tried, but Rainbow Dash and Applejack just went on ahead and attacked him as soon as they saw him. Please don’t punish them; they were just doing what was right.”

I butted in. “Besides, I punished them enough. I got about one good hit on both of them before you showed up.” Something about the way Somae glared at me told me that that had not been the correct response. “And I got a good one on Twilight, too. She’d blasted me with magic, you see, so I had to return the favour.” The glare that had the power of the sun behind it was telling me that I was not helping my case.

Twilight managed to keep me from sticking my foot in my mouth further. “Anyway, Alan’s self-defense is not why we called you here, Princess.”

Somae snapped her focus back to Twilight. “No? Then what did you ask me to come here? I assume it does have something to do with this Corukh, Alan you call him, or else he would not be here.”

Fluttershy spoke up this time. “Um, yes, your highness. I want to start a herd, and Alan needs your blessing.”

I groaned at Fluttershy’s wording and Somae’s burning gaze fell upon me once again. “What she means is that Fluttershy wants me to watch over her family and protect them from danger. Her terminology, though… incriminating is accurate, I suppose. As a Warden, I am considered a full member of the herd.”

Somae squinted at me. “I see. And what makes you think that you are more qualified to guard my subjects than my royal guard?”

“You mean besides the fact that they are useless?” That drew an angry growl from the Keeper of the Sun. “Oh, don’t pretend otherwise. There were no guards whatsoever trying to drive out the Timberwolf pack in town today.”

“My guards are- There were Timberwolves in Ponyville?”

“Five of them. I had to deal with them because they were wrecking the town and there were no guards to be found.”

“And when you say ‘dealt with,’ you don’t mean…”

“Oh yes, I killed them. Took about a minute, maybe two. Of course, I was being uncharacteristically offensive, so it normally takes a bit longer.”

Somae stared at me apprehensively. “And how can I trust you not to go around killing anything that offers you insult?”

“The blue and orange Ponies are still alive, aren’t they? Twilight, too.”

“And me?”

“Well, you are a god, Somae. I’d be hard pressed to do anything before you char broil me again.”

Somae gritted her teeth. She managed to squeeze a sentence through them. “I. Am not. A goddess.”

“Uh huh. Most powerful example of life around that just so happens to harness the power of the sun. Besides, I managed to glean from one of Twilight’s lectures that you and your sister fought Discord, even though Discord had enough power to split the god of Ponykind and its avatar creature into three separate entities. Don’t worry, Somae. Your secret is safe with me. Twilight? Maybe not so much.”

Celestia scrunched her mouth up and glared at me, as though chewing her words. Finally, she managed, “We will talk later, Corukh. For now, just tell me what you wanted with me tonight.”

“I need your blessing to guard Fluttershy and her herd.”

“Fluttershy has a herd?”

“Not yet.”

“And you want him to be your… Warden, was it?”

“Um, yes. I want him to be my Warden.”

Celestia gave a long suffering sigh. “Twilight, my faithful student? You have no objections?”

“No, Princess. In fact, there seems to be a lot that I could learn from Alan!”

“Very well,” Celestia hesitated, and reluctantly nodded. “I condone the Corukh, Alan, to become part of Fluttershy’s family, the Shy line, as a Warden, protector of their line. Alan, do you swear on your life that you shall not allow harm to come to your herd?”

“I swear on pain of death that nothing shall lay a hand on Fluttershy and her kin.”

“Fluttershy, do you promise to love and tolerate Alan and his brethren, as they secure your family’s lineage through time?”

“I, um, yes?”

“Then by the power vested in me by the Sun, and by Faust, Queen before me, I declare Alan Warden of the Shy line and its branches, begun by Fluttershy and her first mate. May you both prosper endlessly.”

I beat a hand to my chest and bowed low, my head level with Fluttershy’s.

Fluttershy looked confused.

Celestia lit her horn and tapped my head with it, and repeated with Fluttershy.

Our souls were now entwined, for good or ill.

Till Death do us part.

Author's Note:

I'd like to thank Blissey1, author of A Novel Tale, for permission to use their version of Changeling society. Go read that story, it's a very nice fic that takes the Changelings as a race and turns them into a civilization.

Comments

[Fugly Duckling]

loved this chapter keep up the good work